Sunday, March 25, 2012

Happy Birthday, Topsy!

So, today (eyes clock)....Yesterday... (ok, I count it as today still since I haven't gone to bed yet) was William Morris' birthday!! In celebration, a couple of treats to share.

First, the best cake ever...a William Morris birthday cake in a very Morris-ian lettering, from William Morris on Facebook:

Second, a portrait of Topsy I had never seen before, posted by Kirsty over at The Kissed Mouth along with a wonderful blog post about his life.

Of all the portraits I've ever seen of him, this seems to sum him up best...too busy to even stay still for a portrait, working hard on one project or another. Dear Topsy...the man whose physician diagnosed his cause of death as being "simply being William Morris, and having done more work than most ten men."

The Beautiful Necessity

This blog is devoted to all things Pre-Raphaelite and Arts & Crafts. The two movements began during the Victorian era, and celebrated a return to the aesthetics and simplicity of medieval times, as well as the romance of nature and chivalry.

The central tenets of the two movements are still very important today, perhaps even more so.